Integrative oncology
A considerable amount of research has been undertaken on various types of fucoidan and cancer (Lin, 2020; Jin, 2021). Some researchers have proposed that certain fucoidans not only reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, they may also assist in the treatment of disease. The potential for some fucoidans as anti-cancer agents is explored in several review publications, including those by Kwak (2014), Fitton (2015) and Yao (2022).
Various studies have shown fucoidans can:
- Suppress the proliferation of cancer cells and slow tumour metastasis (Fitton, 2015).
- Induce programmed cell death, known as apoptosis (Lin, 2020).
- Block the formation of blood vessels that supply tumours with nutrients and oxygen, known as tumour angiogenesis signalling pathways (Turrini, 2023).
- Activate the immune system which enhances the ability of natural killer cells to kill tumour cells (Lin, 2020).
- Reduce pre-cursors to cancer (Lean, 2015; Chua, 2015).
- Enhance therapeutic effects of conventional cancer therapy (Hsu, 2019).
- Reduce side effects of chemotherapy including treatment-related weight loss and muscle loss (Wu, 2022).
- Assist with a wide range of tumour types including, colon, lung, liver, prostate, breast, cervical, ovarian and pancreatic cancer cells (Oliveira, 2020; Lin, 2020).
Fucoidans produced by Marinova
Fucoidans produced by Marinova have been studied in a wide range of cancer types, including colon (DuRoss, 2021; Corban, 2019), oral (Chantree, 2020), prostate (Boo, 2013; Ho, 2022), breast (Burney, 2018; He, 2019; Malhao, 2021; Saren, 2024), ovarian (Mathew, 2017; Liu, 2020; Bae, 2020), cervical (Mathew, 2017), uterine (Bobinski, 2019) and pancreatic cancer cells (Shin, 2018; Etman, 2020). Fucoidans have also shown promise as preventatives for several gastrointestinal disorders and potential cancer pre-cursers which are closely associated with chronic gastrointestinal inflammation. These include acute colitis (Lean, 2015) and gastric cancer (Chua, 2015).
Nanoparticles enriched with high purity fucoidan are increasingly being explored for innovative drug delivery, particularly for the delivery of cancer therapies (Chiang, 2018; Chiang, 2021; Shanmugapriya, 2021; Huang, 2024). The advantages of nanoparticles incorporating fucoidan can include increased solubility, absorption, bioavailability, stability, distribution, therapy effectiveness and tolerability.
Both in vitro tests and human clinical studies have demonstrated the safety of high purity fucoidans when used in combination with chemotherapies such as paclitaxel, tamoxifen, letrozole and topotecan (Mathew, 2017; Burney, 2018; Tocaciu, 2018). Research has also shown that fucoidans can assist in reducing a range of common chemotherapy side effects. These side effects include joint pain, inflammation, appetite reduction and skeletal muscle atrophy (Myers, 2010; Lean, 2015; Chen, 2016; Tocaciu, 2018).